Math and other Life Lessons
by Azecreth
Summary: Scholastic trouble has forced Sayaka to seek a tutor. Fortunately, Madoka knows just the person to help; the shy, but smart, Homura Akemi. Personalities clash, sparks fly, and there may even be a bit of romance in the air as these two teach each other not only about school subjects, but about the world and themselves. [Non-magical AU]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, my first multi-chapter story of this fandom. It's about time. Fave, follow, review, comments and criticism welcome. Let's see what happens, shall we?**

**I have no knowledge of the Japanese school system so this could be totally wrong. Deal with it.**

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It was a bright day in Mitakihara, the mid day shining high in the blue sky, with nary a cloud in sight. The temperature was pleasantly moderate, warm enough to make one want to spend time outside and yet not hot enough to be stifling. It was truly torture for those consigned to be stuck in the classroom that day. Birds chirped and fluttered about as a gentle wind blew, and all was good with the world.

"Aaagh." Sayaka groaned in pain, her current opinion of the world nowhere near as rosy and bright. She was on the roof of Mitakihara Middle School with Madoka beside her, both having come up to the large open area for lunch in that warm day that had been tempting them from beyond the glass windows for so long. At the moment, the current reason for all her displeasure rested in her lap, a small pile of papers heavily marked with bright red pen and prominently displayed grades, the highest of those being a 'D'.

"Of all the times for Hitomi to get sick," she continued, bemoaning her friends illness and her own misfortune as she stared with slumped shoulders at the schoolwork on her lap.

Madoka pecked away at her lunch as she tried to cheer up, or at least comfort her friend. "I don't think she can control when she gets sick..." she pointed out, glad that the school uniform she wore wasn't making the atmosphere any worse for her.

Sayaka looked over and scowled at the comment. "I know. But still." This was a disaster, to put it lightly. Her grades weren't what one would call the best, and with the recent turn of events it was like a depth charge to her current standing. Curse her disinclination for academics and the inability of her teachers to hold her interest!

With a renewed groan, she buried her head in her hands. "God, just kill me now."She could see apocalyptic visions of her future in her minds eye. Angry talks with her parents, slammed doors, her being sequestered from everything she actually enjoyed, and being driven like a slave the rest of her school career. The end of her life, essentially. "I am so dead."

Madoka stopped eating for a few seconds to pat her on the shoulder, still trying to lift her spirits up. "Don't worry. It can't be that bad. "

Sayaka had that 'deer in headlights;' wide eyed look as she shifted to face Madoka."Yes, it can." She practically lunged forward, hands grabbing her friends shoulders like she was a life raft, unintentionally shaking her a bit in the process. "You gotta help me Madoka. I don't want to be grounded for eternity. You're my only hope!" Much as it might hurt her pride to say so, everything she held dear was being threatened, and she needed to preserve that from the tyrannical rule of her parents, lest she lose her cherished freedom.

"Ehh?" Madoka swayed in Sayaka's hold, attempting to shy away on the concrete barrier for her own personal safety, some confusion evident. Now she was sure it really was that bad, given how uncharacteristic this was of her friend. She thought of possible ideas, chopsticks held idle in her hand before she fixed on an idea. "Maybe you should do something to show them you're trying to get better at your schoolwork. Then they won't punish you!"

Sayaka's face lit up at the idea. Admittedly, fully escaping punishment was probably unavoidable, but lessening the severity of that punishment was something worth striving for. "Oh yeah, that could work," she agreed. Then just as rapidly, her face fell again with the next question. "How am I supposed to do that? School's hard enough as it is!"

Madoka contemplated that question in turn, a light bulb going off in her brain as she straightened up and smiled. "I know. Why don't you get a tutor to help teach you? Then you wouldn't need to get answers from me or Hitomi all the time." She certainly seemed to think it was a good idea, if appearance was any indication.

That seemed to appeal to Sayaka as well, her mood rising again. "Sure." She looked her friend over critically before continuing. "Hey, why don't you teach me? You got A's on all that stuff."

Now it was Madoka's turn to be uncomfortable, squirming a bit in her seat as her cheeks brightened a bit in embarrassment, shoving her own collection of papers further out of sight near her feet. "Sorry, I'm not that good a teacher," she replied sheepishly. "Why don't you ask Mami instead?"

Sayaka briefly considered the notion of being schooled by the blond in the class above theirs, another of her friends who was not present at the moment, before dismissing the idea. Not that she thought Mami was incapable of doing the job, much less doing it well, but it just didn't seem like it would work from her perspective. "Nah. She's always busy with parties and club activities and being popular. I wouldn't want to impose."

"I'm sure she'd be okay with it," Madoka replied a bit sullenly, Sayaka's answer sounding a lot like an attempt to find an excuse to not get a tutor after all, at least to her ears. But she didn't push it, instead going back to the task of finding a suitable tutor for her. Hitomi wasn't an option for fairly obvious reasons, those being her currently sick nature and her genuinely busy schedule, so it would have to be someone else not in their immediate group of friends. It definitely couldn't be Kyosuke, since he was still in the hospital and all, and finding another was proving a difficult task. Pink eyes drifted in thought before they settled on the perfect person. "What about Homura?"

Sayaka's brow furrowed and the corners of her mouth tilted downwards as she turned to follow madoka's gaze, spying the named girl across the courtyard below in an inside corner of the building, visible to the two perched on the roof by the glass wall that allowed sunlight to fall across the pages of the book pressed close to her face, red rimmed glasses placed off to the side next to her barely touched lunch as she ate alone. It was a sight that brought a twinge of pain to Madoka, the nurses assistant wincing at the thought of what having the book that close, and neglecting to eat her full meal would do to Homura. She couldn't help her worrying, especially given the nature of the majority of their interactions.

"The transfer student?" Sayaka said it with some disbelief, shifting her gaze between Madoka and the far off Homura. "You've gotta be joking. I barely know her! I'm not gonna ask any old random person to tutor me. For all I know she could be some pervy stalker who'll become obsessed with me." She folded her arms, nose tilted upwards in an attempt at her best 'snobby' impression.

The out of hand rejection was received with a pout as full attention was returned from Homura to the blunette. "Sayaka, don't be mean. She's a nice person when you get to know her. And she's one of the smartest people in the class."

That succeeded in smoothing indignation and drawing back Sayaka's attention. "Really? How do you know that? Is my wife being unfaithful," she asked with mock seriousness, her teasing very effective, as she well knew it would be.

Madoka shook her head and waved her arms in fervent denial, flustered by Sayaka'a shenanigans. "N-no! Ms. Saotome told me," she replied. Admittedly, she hadn't been directly told, but it was hard to avoid overhearing their homeroom teacher, and Sayaka didn't need to know that. If it was to help those she cared about, then she could afford to leave out a little unnecessary detail like that.

This was news to Sayaka, and she became a bit more subdued as she considered the idea, visions of A+'s popping up in her head. "Oh."

Seeing an opening, Madoka took it, leaning over to take Sayaka's hands in hers. "Please," she said, putting on a smile and bringing the full force of her personality to bear. "I know you two can be friends if you tried. Do it for me?"

She tried, she really did, but the logic was decently compelling, her mentality more than a tad desperate, and the look she was subjected to unfair and hard to resist. Under that barrage Sayaka had no choice but to cave. "Fine," she conceded. "You win. I'll talk to her after school."

Madoka beamed and practically leapt at her as she wrapped her arms around Sayaka in a crushing hug. "Oh thank you. I'm sure you'll do awesome."

Sayaka chuckled nervously in Madoka's grip. "Yeah." She still wasn't all that convinced of success, but now that she had committed there was no escaping this. Not without something major happening, lest she find herself the subject of Madoka's anger. She pushed Madoka away after a few seconds, gesturing to her food. "We better finish lunch. We're almost out of time and I'm starving." She put her scattered papers to the side after straightening them up and dug into her meal as Madoka released her to do the same.

Rapidly eating her lunch, Sayaka couldn't help but steal a few glances at Madoka's quickly vanishing meal, only because she knew her friend's dad made the best best food. He was some kind of master chef, and tended to make her own lunches pale in comparison. True, she could always count of Madoka to share if need be, or for a visit to Mami's to yield some tasty treat to spice things up the day after, but for the most part her home meals were just kinda...plain. Mediocre. Like her. Not amazing but good enough to skirt by, once in a while doing something to impress. It was something she'd been content with, but she'd always wanted to do more, to be more. She wanted to be like the heroes she read about, with derring do, saving the princess and winning the day, generally being amazing. She couldn't do that in real life, she knew, but now that she had this opportunity to stand out a bit more, would she take it? Was she willing to accept help to move on? She didn't know.

Her sobering thoughts were interrupted by the tolling of the school bell, it acting as a sign for them both to pack up what they had left head back inside, down the flights of stairs and through the hallways that would take them to their next class.

A bit hurried but otherwise on time, they entered the glass walled classroom and went to their seats, the one right next to the other. Looking, Sayaka found that Homura was already there, school supplies and notebook already arranged on her desk and ready to record what they were going to learn. Homura's gaze, enhanced by her glasses, met Madoka before shifting away, feigning disinterest as the two took out their notebooks to follow her example, though it was a fair guess that the quality of the notes taken would vary wildly.

The school day resumed and passed by, and Sayaka felt herself falling further and further into boredom, doodling pictures of knights, that happened to look like her, rescuing fair maidens from terrible monsters, that happened to look like her teachers, rather than taking notes. She would blame the teachers for her lack of attention, but she was just unable to focus on the lesson at hand, or understand the majority of what they were saying. Besides, it wasn't like she'd use half the stuff they were being forced to lean anyway.

Her gaze meandered as eyelids drooped, some force of will required to keep from dozing off. Madoka sat to her left, biting her lip in concentration as she looked from the white board in front of them to her notes. At least one of them was doing good work here, allowing the possibility of sleep, separated from the great day she knew was being wasted away outside.

It took more effort still to keep from staring at Homura. For being so apparently smart, she didn't do herself any favors by sitting in the back, hidden by all the other students. Still, she seemed to be doing a good job of her note taking, even if it only looked like gibberish from Sayaka's perspective.

She didn't look back for long though as she found herself suddenly confronted by the science teacher, a tall, balding man who didn't look too thrilled to be here, or too thrilled at her lack of attention. "Now then, what's the answer to this equation Ms. Miki," he said pointedly, gesturing to some half done formula on the board.

Her head rose to meet his eyes, then turned to the board, only a flash of panic betraying her confusion as she looked at the problem, it making all the sense of a foreign language to her. Her mouth tightened as she thought, before producing an answer, grinning and hoping her answer wasn't horribly wrong. "Two protons and one electron?"

The teacher sighed, shaking his head and resisting the urge to rub his eyes. "Incorrect. Please pay more attention in the future," he said, knowing that the suggestion would be ineffectual at best as he stepped back form her desk, motioning to the class. "Would anyone else care to try? What about you, Ms. Akemi?"

"Um...Sure," came the quiet, hesitant reply from the back. Hands on her desk Homura closed her eyes as she took a few measured breathes before responding in a seemingly rehearsed manner. "First shell, two electrons, second shell, eight electrons, third shell, six electrons."

"Yes, that's correct." the teacher went on with the lesson as Homura breathed a sigh of relief, unaware of the appraising look she received from the blunette a few rows ahead of her. All settled back down to attend to notes or daydream through the end of the class and school.

After a span of time that seemed to be hours, at least from Sayaka's perspective, the class was over, and with it the school day. There was a rapid outflow of students eager to leave and enjoy the day, as well as return home, but this did not include Sayaka, Madoka, or Homura. The black hair girl moved slower, more deliberately, giving everyone time to leave as she placed her stuff away while Madoka looked back at her.

"Well, go on," she said in a near whisper, leaning towards Sayaka and motioning towards Homura, who had her back turned to the two at the moment.

Sayaka nodded, nervousness restored and yet hidden away beneath a veneer of brash confidence and determination. "Yeah, I'm going, I'm going," she grumbled as she stepped forward, clutching her shoulder bag.

Quick steps took her back through the few rows that separated them as she called out to her target. "Yo, Akemi!"

Homura's back stiffened, braided hair dipping as she looked up, eyes wide as she held back an 'eep' of surprise. She turned around, hands held nervously at her sides and written across her face as Sayaka stood in front of her now. "Y-yes?" There was a tremor in her tone, indicating her emotions if they weren't obvious enough to the other girl.

"I..I need you to tutor me," Sayaka said, faltering a bit with the difficulty of saying what she needed to, yet forcing it out just the same. A hero had to have confidence once they chose their path, and she would do the same.

Given time to compose herself, the visible signs of Homura's nervousness diminished, arms relaxing somewhat and trembling lessened. She was still confused by the suddenness of the request though. "In what?"

"Everything," was the blunt, yet succinct, reply. It succeeded in intimidating the one she was conversing too in the sheer broadness of the request, but Homura kept her gaze fixed as she considered it.

She was on the cusp of saying no, of apologizing and excusing herself, introverted nature triumphing when thrown against Sayaka's bold nature, but then she caught sight of Madoka standing behind the blunette. She gestured, unseen by Sayaka, from the impatiently waiting girl to herself while silently mouthing _Please, do it for me_.

Lavender eyes darted away with a shift of her head, uncomfortable continuing to look where she had been. Still, the request of the one real friend she had here was one she wasn't about to ignore, not when compared against the kindness Madoka had shown to her thus far. For that, because she asked, Homura would be willing to give tutoring Sayaka Miki a shot. Not that this was a guarantee, but rather just a commitment to at least try and overcome her predilection for isolation and stand to be in the presence of the opposite minded extrovert. She just had to keep her distance and keep her calm, she repeated like a mantra in her mind.

"Okay Sayaka Miki, I'll help you. Perhaps we can begin on Friday after school," she replied, offering a time that would let her get prepared for the myriad of lessons she expected she would have to teach.

"I can do that," Sayaka agreed. Given her aversion to ask for anyone's help or admit her flaws, a delay of a few days was alright, even welcome, so she could enjoy the free time she had left. "I know a pretty good cafe a few blocks away that we can work at."

Homura nodded with a slight smile, trying to keep her displeasure at holding these meetings in a public place with all that that entailed from her expression. She had measured the opportunity cost, and given that the cafe offered more options than being in one's house, in terms of a quick escape should this not work out, she was prepared to accept it. "That's fine."

Bag slung over her shoulder in a smooth motion, Homura disengaged from the conversation now that the details seemed to have been settled. "Excuse me, I have to get going," she said as she slipped past, nearly running out of the classroom and down the hall until she was out of sight.

Sayaka watched her go as she rejoined Madoka, the two leaving the classroom as well, though at a more sedate pace. "See, that wasn't so bad," Madoka commented cheerfully, refraining from mentioning the part she had played in Homura's agreement. It wasn't that important anyway.

"I guess," Sayaka conceded, mind already working on the next problem as they left the school and began on the path home. Namely, explaining all this and what had happened to her parents. Man, this was going to suck.

Silence lapsed between them until they reached the point where they usually went their separate ways, Madoka heading one way while Sayaka went the other. "See you later," Sayaka called as she waved over her shoulder.

"Bye, see you tomorrow," Madoka called in return as her bobbing pink head moved out of sight, and Sayaka reluctantly moved towards her home and what she knew waited. And here the day had been shaping up so well. She sighed, putting a spring in her step as she walked along. At least she had something to look forward to, or dread, on Friday now. She'd just have to survive until then. She could do that, right?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Man, I don't know how some people can update as fast as they do. Hopefully I make up for lack of speed with quality though. As you may have noticed, it's time for another chapter, with plot stuff and character interaction. Always fun times.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed/faved/followed. It means a lot to have your support and motivate me on to write more chapters. Hopefully I can write something that impresses. So if you're enjoying this story, let me know. There's lots of fun promised for the future. As well as other stories, because my dang muse won't shut up, so I'll probably get side tracked. Again. Until next time, read, and enjoy.  
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It was Friday at last, the day Sayaka had looked forward to with a mixture of apprehension, dread, and anticipation. It was something that had occupied her mind more and more each passing day, and now had come the time when she would have to face the fact that she needed to be tutored, and go through with it.

She had broken the news to her parents as delicately as she could, and while she may have been _slightly_ exaggerating their reaction for dramatic effect, at least a little, it wasn't much o an exaggeration. She was still slapped with a curfew and reduced allowance, which she did not enjoy at all, but for the moment she put up with it in a grudging manner. After all, it would soon be irrelevant, and she could enjoy the returned taste of freedom as her grades swung back up.

It was the tutoring itself that worried her, whether she would get it or just make a complete fool of herself in front of her classmate, and there was no way she was going to let herself look like a fool. Well, not without good cause anyway. Then there was the worry if this would even help her, or if things would continue to go on as they had. Plus this whole thing was with, you know, Akemi, and their interaction up to this point had been saying 'hello' in the hallway, certainly not enough to get Sayaka to the point of liking her.

She wasn't the only one having doubts and second thoughts. Homura's insecurity had struck back with a vengeance once out of that intimidating, overbearing presence, and it had persisted as she prepared for today. Worries about whether she would be good enough to do what was being asked of her, fears of messing up and earning ridicule, the type of thoughts that had plagued her since getting out of the controlled environment of the hospital.

It wasn't helped by what she had heard around school. It was interesting, the things one could hear when they just stopped talking log enough to listen, though her assumed position as a near background fixture, barely noticeable, probably helped too. And what she had heard hadn't put her that much at ease. Sayaka was loud, brash, a bit arrogant, but a natural athlete, relatively popular, and otherwise pretty much the opposite of herself. It was only her friendship with Madoka at this point that kept her from having something 'come up unexpectedly' before she fled back into comfortable obscurity.

The two of them met near the front gate of the school, Sayaka by all appearances brimming with energy and ready to go, while Homura stood there meekly, emotions much less shielded as she shrunk in the blunettes presence. Both wore school uniforms, Sayaka with a backpack slung over her shoulder while Homura clutched her briefcase tightly, though she wore the shoulder strap as well.

"H-Hello, Ms. Miki," Homura said nervously, adding in a respectful bow.

"Yo," Sayaka replied as she stopped in front of Homura, her hands resting on her hips. "You ready to go, Akemi? It's a bit of a walk, but it's worth it."

Homura gave her a curt nod in return, with another hesitant, to Sayaka's annoyance, response. "Y-Yes, I am." Sayaka brushed her annoyance aside in characteristic brashness as she stepped away, making her way down afternoon city streets towards the cafe she, Madoka, and Hitomi tended to frequent.

The walk was passed in silence, Sayaka leading the way while Homura followed behind, hanging back a bit yet her stride that much quicker to keep up with her determined guide. Neither of them particularly felt like talking as cars passed by them and the wide spaces gave way to the urban congregation that marked the downtown area, and any attempts fell flat shortly after starting, leaving them both to brace themselves for what was to come.

Soon they were there, at the cafe that Sayaka had selected for the lesson to take place. It was on a street corner at an intersection, windows offering tantalizing looks into a comfy space, white tables with light and dark browns to compliment them. A green sign rested above the front door that named it as the 'White Lily,' and it gave off the impression of being classy, yet cheap.

"Here we are," Sayaka announced as she stepped up to the door, swinging it open and holding it in place to allow her companion to enter first before she did so herself, the door closing behind them.

Inside, Homura was brought to an abrupt halt, practically assaulted by the warm atmosphere, the sights, sounds, and smells, as she looked around with wide eyes. The cafe was sparsely populated for the moment besides the people who usually worked there, employees going about their jobs while the few customers enjoyed their meals and otherwise distracted themselves. The aroma of fresh bread, hot coffee, and caramel hit her senses, bringing an unexpected sigh of enjoyment that she wasn't successful in completely keeping bottled up.

Sayaka brushed past her and moved towards the counter, peering up at the menu that rested on the wall. "Hey Sayaka," said the man working the register, acknowledging her presence. "What'll it be today?"

Ssayaka grinned as she turned her attention from the menu to the speaker, as much a regular as one could really expect. "I think I'll have a Reuben and a Sprite," she replied after a minute of thought, removing her finger from where she had planted it on her chin in the process. She then looked over her shoulder to the quiet, dark haired girl with her. "You want anything, Akemi?"

"Oh?" Taken by surprise at the question, Homura paused briefly before shaking her head. "Um, no thank you." At this point she wanted to get down to business, rather than eat. She had food at home after all.

Sayaka shrugged as she reached into a pocket to grab her wallet. "Alright." She returned her attention to the cashier then and handed over the cost of her food, receiving in return a numbered card to mark her order before she turned to face Homura again. After all, it was better to offer and be rejected than not offer at all. "So, where do you want to sit?"

Her tutor frowned in thought, doing a quick scan of the cafe that was visible before bespectacled eyes settled on a choice, and she moved for one of the booths near the back, bathed in golden sunlight form the nearby window, and coincidentally as far from the other patrons as they could reasonably get. Sayaka noticed but didn't comment on that as she followed along, sliding into the booth and resting on the padded cream colored seat cross from Homura.

As she placed the numbered card into the metal holder that was provided on the table, Homura placed her briefcase beside her and flipped it open to pull out some papers for the lesson today. This gave Sayaka the chance for a better look inside, and curious, she took it, and she was impressed by what she saw, an eyebrow rising in appreciation. The leather suitcase was meticulously organized, papers ordered by labeled section, each devoted to a different subject. Within, notes were in front and homework in back of each section, and at the back of her briefcase was a section devoted to blank paper, both printer paper and notebook paper. It was definitely better than Sayaka's, which struggled to even qualify as haphazard organization.

If Homura noticed her inspection, she didn't show it. "I was thinking we could start with math, if that's okay with you," she asked, glancing across the table to the blunette for confirmation, a calculator joining the papers already on the table. Her speech had risen in confidence as she entered situations she had prepared herself for beforehand, ones she could predict.

Sayaka shrugged and nodded in addition. "That's fine," she agreed. Much as she might like to do anything else really, it was the most pressing subject that she had to deal with, and should probably be addressed sooner rather than later.

Homura flipped open her math notebook, revealing yet more efficient organization to mirror that which she had in her briefcase, handwritten notes divided by date and jotted down in small, precise detail, pages filled with a mass of numbers, symbols, arrows, practice problems, and slight addendums that made it all seem so much gibberish to the blue eyes that scanned them from across the table.

Sayaka's notes went onto the table as well from her backpack, flipping rapidly to the days lesson, accompanied by the silent prayer that she could reach them without Homura noticing the pages of artwork that also accompanied her writing in her journal. Fortunately for her, if her tutor did notice, she refrained from saying anything. Thank goodness for small favors, though she did get the feeling of slight disapproval from her classmate, which was annoying in itself. As if the transfer student had a right to judge her.

"Very well, Sayaka Miki, do you have any pressing questions regarding today's lesson," Homura asked, her attention fully given to the task at hand, her hands resting on her lap.

Sayaka looked through her own notes on the lesson, trying to decipher what she had written as they deteriorated over the course of the lesson itself. That in itself was probably not a good sign, and she gave a nervous chuckle. "Um yeah," she replied with chagrin. "Can you just explain it all again for me? I swear I don't understand half of what our teacher says even on good days."

Homura held back the urge to roll her lavender eyes, but couldn't stop a small sigh from escaping, a sign of her exasperation in the face of this overarching request. Somehow, even though she had hoped otherwise, this wasn't totally unexpected. From what she had silently observed, and what she had observed, it was somewhat typical for the blunette. But she resumed her emotionless demeanor as her gaze returned to the notes in front of her.

"Of course," she said as she pulled out some sheets of clean paper to use, jotting down a few formulas in small, practiced script, a replacement for the notes Sayaka had that she could use instead. In between her actions she talked, sine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, secant, and cotangent, and the relationship between them. Though it wouldn't be taught in detail for another year or so, their most recent lesson had begun looking at trigonometric functions, an overview for their class. Personally she found it easy, but she understood that she wasn't exactly average when it came to academics.

It was shortly after they began that the food Sayaka had ordered arrived at their table, an employee dressed in a black polo and jeans presenting the tray with a "Here you go," and taking the numbered card before beating a retreat to let them do as they wished. The smell of fresh food, as well as the sight, brought dual growls from their stomachs, though Sayaka would be the only one to find satisfaction there as she shifted her stuff to make space for the tray on which sat the plate of food and glass, while Homura redoubled her focus away from the hunger that had been incited.

"Now, when you divide sine by cosine, you get tangent. And as a reciprocal function..." Homura spoke quickly, yet confidently, if a bit quietly, trying her best to ignore the sound of chewing across from her, the sound of sipping through a straw, the smell of corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and wheat bread, and brushing away the crumbs that landed on her side of the table with her free hand. She had to take deep breathes to keep her annoyance at the distractions submerged, her impression of Sayaka diminishing all the more. It was like she was more interested in the food, which earned hums of approval, than in actually learning what she had prepared to teach.

"So, cosecant's like cosine, but flipped," Sayaka asked in between taking a sip of Sprite.

Homura shook her head. "No. Cosecant is the opposite of sine. Either the hypotenuse over the opposite length, or one over sine." That went down in the notes Homura was in the process of making.

"Oh, I see," Sayaka replied thoughtfully, though whether it was true or just for her benefit Homura couldn't tell.

Frowning slightly, she decided to find out, removing another sheet of paper from her briefcase and jotting down some problems on it, ones that were simple in her own mind, with some pictures of triangles included. Once she had things written to her satisfaction she slid it across the table, placing her pencil atop it before sitting back just a little to wait. "Please, try and do these problems," she said respectfully.

Sayaka looked down at the list of problems, blinking in slight astonishment and concentration before she took up the pencil and set to work as requested. She frowned, brow furrowing in thought as she tried to recall and apply what she had heard and learned, aware of Homura's gaze on her the entire time, spurring her on. It was just hard to focus with the atmosphere around her so distracting, competing for her attention, as the multitude of numbers and math terms began to merge and blur into scary looking masses.

Minutes later, a space of time punctuated by flurries of scribbling and at least attempted answers, as well as at least the appearance of thoughtful inaction, Sayaka finished the last problem with a flourish and practically shoved the worksheet across the table before slumping with a sigh, glad to be done with that torture.

That good feeling all too quickly vanished as Homura looked down through red rimmed glasses at her work before pulling a red pen from a pocket in her briefcase for writing instruments and moving to action. Red ink flowed like a river as she dissected the blunettes work, eliminating superfluous actions, highlighting and correcting errors, and bringing her work around to the correct answer if she had had one in the first place. It was like physical assaults, but Sayaka kept up a brave face in the sight of how off she had been on her work.

At last the dark haired tutor had gone through everything, and she handed it back with a simple "Here," before placing her pen back in it's proper spot in her briefcase. Sayaka reached over and grabbed the paper, bringing it up to get a good look, and at the same time braced herself for what she would see. Her grip tightened perceptibly as her eyes drifted downwards, crinkling the paper in the process as she let out a low growl with anger etched across her visage. She was definitely not happy.

For her part, as Sayaka read, Homura glanced at the clock to see that nearly an hour and a half had elapsed in the process of this tutoring. It wasn't too surprising, given the volume of what she had had to convey, but it was growing more apparent that she was getting nowhere as it was, and she needed to stop before she let her emotions get the best of her Perhaps a new approach would be needed. And the last thing she wanted to do was embarrass herself in public, not with the potential of other classmates seeing.

"Maybe we should stop for the day," Homura offered hesitantly, glancing back down to her fellow classmate.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Sayaka replied through slightly clenched teeth, releasing her near death grip on the piece of paper, so it wouldn't be further crumpled.

A decision made, they both began to pack up, Homura sliding her new notes across the table for Sayaka to take as they glanced at each other occasionally while focusing primarily on packing up everything they had brought with. Sayaka added the notes with a short "Thanks," mentally reminding herself to put them somewhere where she could find them.

Homura let her gaze linger on the blunette as she neared being done packing up. "Perhaps we should meet again on Tuesday?"

Sayaka paused in mid action, before giving a noncommittal nod. "Sure, I think I can do that," she replied. Hopefully she could manage the weekends homework without help, and if not then she could get the answers from Madoka, much as she might have promised to not do that anymore. Madoka was really too nice a person to say no most of the time.

Finished packing everything back into her briefcase, Homura rose with the briefcase hanging by it's shoulder strap, as she moved to leave the cafe and head home. She could feel eyes on her, unwanted attention from people looking to see who was leaving. Her heart beat faster and her breathing picked up as she felt self conscious of every action, forcing herself to take it slow and not leave at a near dead run. She could do this, she could do this. It was easy, really. Just walking. No problem.

Sayaka, almost done as well, nearly facepalmed as she remembered something she had almost forgot, and she was quick to call after her departing tutor. "Hey Akemi," she asked loudly, "how much do I owe you?"

The question brought Homura up short, her focus sidetracked by the statement directed at her as she looked over her shoulder before turning to face Sayaka again. "Hm? Owe me?"

"Yeah," Sayaka reaffirmed, withdrawing her wallet from her pocket and displaying some Yen, spoken like it should have been obvious. "How much do I owe you for helping me?"

Homura blushed, mentally chastising herself for missing something so obvious. Of course Sayaka would want to pay her! How could she be so oblivious? She was performing a service, and naturally people would want to compensate her for doing so.

Yet, to be honest, she wasn't sure how to respond either. The thought of getting paid for this had somehow never occurred to her during this entire time, but given the manner in which she had received this responsibility, nit kept her from desiring payment of any form. It wasn't like she needed the money anyway.

"I don't require any monetary compensation, Sayaka Miki," she replied at last. "I chose to do this is a favor first and foremost."

"Oh." Sayaka wasn't too disappointed that she wouldn't have to spend money as she put the wallet away in her pocket. It rubbed her the wrong way to essentially be getting charity, especially from the transfer student, but if she wasn't going to take money then at this point Sayaka wasn't sure how to repay her. She would have to think on it. Meanwhile though, something in the response had grabbed her interest. "A favor? To who?"

Homura's blush deepened as she looked away, heat emanating from her cheeks. "A...friend," she replied reluctantly, embarrassed to say whom. She decided to beat a hasty retreat then, leaving Sayaka to watch her back as she headed out the door.

Left to wonder who that friend might be (though she had a few ideas given the limited knowledge she had of Akemi's social circle), Sayaka shrugged to herself and picked up her backpack before leaving as well. All things considered, that hadn't been too bad. If all her lessons were like this, then maybe she could do it after all.

Sadly, it appeared that Sayaka had forgotten one of the most important lessons from the fantasy novels and manga she liked to read. Namely, things could always get worse.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alright then, another chapter to add to this story. Thanks for the feedback thus far, it means a lot to know people are reading this and enjoying it. I have some fun things planned for ahead, some drama, some humor, maybe some action, I dunno. We'll see what happens, won't we.****  
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**Now then, if you're enjoying this and haven't already, I encourage you to follow or favorite this story, as well as leave a review on what you like and what I can do better. I'm not gonna become a better writer without feedback, and that's up to you.**

**Well, that's my piece. Back to the story.**

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Mondays sucked.

This was the prevalent opinion of one Sayaka Miki, currently living through that abomination of nature. As far as she was concerned, Monday was God's effort to troll mankind, even if she knew in her head that it was really an arbitrary time scale chosen by some Roman dude throwing a dart at a board and decreeing that that would be 'Monday' a million years ago. It still didn't change the fact that they sucked.

Still, while she might object, Monday's continued to exist, and some genius had also decided that that was the first day in the week when school started, so she was obligated to rise from heavenly slumber to get up and go to school, while struggling not to fall asleep on her feet as she left her house and headed for the middle school.

At least it was a nice day, a scant few clouds in the sky to block the rising sun, a moderate temperature that didn't help her desire to sleep, beautiful green colors from the surrounding vegetation as the city came alive for the day. All in all, nature was doing her part, even if Sayaka wished she wouldn't. A thunderstorm or something would be nice right about now. Just one school delay so she could get some more sleep. That was all she asked for.

Fortunately she had friends to help her stay awake. A few blocks from her house she found Hitomi waiting for her at their usual meeting spot that they used when walking together, her classmate having recovered from her illness at last.

"Hey Hitomi," she called with a wave as she neared the green haired girl, who bowed in return.

"Hello Sayaka," she replied warmly as the blunette came to a stop beside her. "You're looking well today."

Though she might have looked as such in the school uniform and with her usual hairstyle, Sayaka didn't so much feel it. She was dead tired from a late night, and was not looking forward to today for primarily that reason. Still, being with her friends was enough to lift her spirits, so hopefully her current mood would pass. "You too. I'm glad you're not sick anymore. You had me and Madoka worried for a bit."

"Thank you. I am sorry to have caused such concern." Hitomi wore a graceful smile as the two of them began walking towards the school together. "It was not the most pleasant experience, being bedridden with mother worrying over me. But I did get a break from my lessons, and I got to catch up on some of my television shows, so I suppose the extra homework as a result of missing school was worth it."

"Well, if you say so," Sayaka replied with a shrug. "It just wasn't the same without you, that's all."

Hitomi's soft smile didn't leave as she looked over to her friend. "It's nice to be missed." She paused before going on, broaching a different subject. "So what's this I hear about you getting a tutor to help you out in school?"

"Eheheheh yeah." Sayaka chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck. Even while bedridden, it appeared that the rumor mill still rolled unchecked. Dang it. "It's nothing major, but my parents insisted, and I don't wanna get grounded. So, I have a tutor to help out with the hard stuff."

"I see." Hitomi gave her a knowing look that Sayaka did her best to ignore. "I take it this means that I won't have to lend you my homework answers all the time now?"

Sayaka winced at the reminder of her near constant habit of practically begging homework answers off Hitomi, or Madoka, and she gave a hesitant response to her friend. "Um, well, no promises." she glanced away to the green trees that cast long shadows across their path before returning her attention to Hitomi with some nerve worked up. "Actually, can I look at your math homework when we get to school?" She raised her hands defensively as she explained herself before Hitomi could object. "Not that I want to copy it or anything. I just want to double check my answers with yours. Make sure I'm right and all."

A frown of disapproval from Hitomi died at that explanation, and her objection quickly evaporated as well. She supposed she could make an exception this one time, since it did seem that Sayaka was at least putting in the effort. "Of course," she agreed with a nod. "I'd be happy to help you."

Sayaka breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have the assistance of one of the smartest people she knew to make sure that the answers for the homework that she had spent the weekend working on were correct. And if they happened to not be, then the right ones would be on hand. "Thanks a lot," she replied gratefully in turn.

The two lapsed into silence, footsteps sounding on the concrete of the sidewalk as they moved ever closer to the school. It wasn't an awkward silence, but rather friendly, one belonging to two people who knew each other for long enough to not have to speak to each other all the time. They simply enjoyed being together. At least, that was how Sayaka felt, and she hoped the feeling was reciprocated.

All of a sudden though, it seemed that Hitomi was the one uncomfortable being there, taking a few furtive glances at the blunette as her hands worked nervously out of sight before resuming her calm facade. "So, how is Kyosuke doing?"

Sayaka was quick to respond, thinking nothing much of the question. "He's fine. Rehab is going along slowly, but he's making progress. He still may not ever be able to play again, but at least he won't be stuck in the hospital anymore, if everything goes well." She had visited him this weekend, so she was as up to date as she could reasonably be on his condition.

"Oh, that's good," Hitomi replied, letting the matter drop with not a second thought from her friend as to the kind of intent behind the query. As far as Sayaka was aware, it was just friendly concern and nothing more, since they were classmates.

Birds tweeted in the morning air as a fast moving stream briefly joined up with their path, running parallel to the way their feet carried them. The soft sound of flowing water soothed and calmed, twisted tendrils attempting to lull Sayaka back to sleep, an impulse that she managed to resist, if only barely, and it caused a resurgence in the wish that she could be anywhere but here right now.

In the course of those and similar thoughts, she glanced over to Hitomi, who walked along with the same energy that she apparently maintained at a constant level, and found herself getting jealous. She had all these classes, and practices for being a proper lady, and stuff like that, more so than Sayaka herself, but somehow she always seemed to be looking forward to what she would have to do next, if not being resolutely prepared. How did she manage to do that, Sayaka wondered with a shake of her head. It was something she would have to ask about at some point, if she could work up the courage to do so.

Before she could get on to any further comparisons between herself and Hitomi, there was an interruption in the form of a cry from behind them. Green and blue paused in their forward movement to turn and look back in tandem at whatever had called to them. Approaching them at a run was Madoka, pink hair bobbing up and down as she came up from behind on an intersecting path.

Catching up at last due to the fact that they had stopped, Madoka bent over, hands resting on her knees as she got her breath back. "Sorry I'm late," she said to them as she recovered, the time indeed past when they usually met to finish the walk to school.

"Hey Madoka," Sayaka replied with a happy grin as the pinkette rose back up, looking otherwise fine from her sprint.

"Hello Madoka," echoed Hitomi with a nod to the recently arrived girl.

As they began to walk once again, Madoka took up a position in the middle of the two as they continued on towards the school. Looking at Madoka along the way, Hitomi noticed a bandage on her right thumb, and felt motivated by simple curiosity to ask about it. "If you don't mind my asking Madoka, what happened?"

Attention drawn to it, Madoka lifted her right hand to look at the bandage she wore before answering. "Oh, this? I accidentally pricked my finger on some thorns while helping Papa garden. It's nothing serious."

"Well that's good," Sayaka replied with an impish twinkle in her eye. "I'd hate for anything to happen to my Madoka." She then paused, getting in a thinking position with her head tilted upwards and a hand resting on her chin. "Though, you know, maybe you'll fall into an enchanted sleep, which will require true loves kiss to awaken from! Don't worry Madoka, my true love, I shall save you!"

This impassioned speech was accompanied by Sayaka lunging at Madoka with open arms and pursed lips, earning a cry of panic and a look of fear from the pinkette, who dodged out of the way. "Whaaa? Sayaka, stop! Please! I don't need a kiss from anyone! Stay away!" This led into another fair routine, both of them running around with Sayaka cackling and chasing after Madoka, who used Hitomi as a body shield to protect herself from her pursuer.

Hitomi sighed as she was used as the spoke of a wheel, letting it go on for a few moments before loudly coughing to draw their attention back to more serious affairs while attempting, and somewhat failing, to keep from blushing. "Now then, did you have a good weekend otherwise," she asked Madoka, who was getting her breath back from the sudden sprint.

"Yes," Madoka replied after having recovered somewhat. "I volunteered over at the animal shelter on Saturday."She took on a distant look as she spoke. Apparently the experience had been a good one.

'I take it your parents still aren't letting you get a cat then," Hitomi asked carefully.

The distant look returned to reality as Madoka nodded, a tinge of sadness present as well. "Yeah. Tatusya wants one too, but Mama is allergic, so we can't." It was a standard refusal, and one that was true, but it never stopped her from trying all the same.

Hitomi picked up speaking in turn, "My weekend went well, besides being bedridden and sick."

Madoka then looked over to Sayaka. "What about you? How is the tutoring going?" Sayaka had texted her after the first lesson ended to tell her that it had gone well and that she had managed to survive, but not much more than that. So she and Hitomi were eager for details.

"It was fine," Sayaka replied with a shrug. "We went to a cafe, she tutored me in math, we did some practice questions, then we left." she then looked over at Madoka. "And I will admit, you were right. Akemi is pretty smart. Even if she wouldn't let me pay her."

Hitomi gave a mock gasp in response. "Oh my," she said, feigned surprise in her tone as a hand rose to cover her mouth. "I do believe we are witnessing a rare sight. Sayaka admitting that she might have been wrong."

"Hey, I said I'd give it a shot," Sayaka quickly objected, resisting the urge to gesture with a fist at Hitomi in the process. "I just wasn't sure she'd be a good tutor, and she was. I never said she wouldn't be."

"Of course," Hitomi replied with a placating nod and soothing words, a routine that was as common for the trio as Sayaka's teasing of Madoka, and none of them wished to stop this habit of theirs.

The sidewalk widened as the stream left it's path beside them and other staggered groups of students joined them, each moving towards the school. Some moved faster and some slower as they joined together in a mass migration. The joys of required education.

"Still, I'm glad you liked it," Madoka commented as they continued along. She knew that Sayaka was smart, it was just a matter of the blunette applying herself, which didn't happen for extended periods often. Of course, she also planned to take to Homura when they went to the nurses office later so she could get the opposing view of events from her, but that was for the future.

Sayaka nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it may not be so bad after all."

The rest of the time was spent in idle chit chat, of tv shows recently watched, games recently played, immediate plans, that sort of thing, as the school, an edifice of modern glass, steel, and concrete, walled off from the bustle of city life, rose in front of them. Greetings were exchanged as the spread out cloud of students condensed to go through the entrance gates, saying hello to classmates as they arrived.

Then they were inside the building and the lovely embrace of air conditioning. The hallways were filled with people milling about and the noise of doors opening and closing, lockers slamming, and people interacting as shoes squeaked on tile and marble. Through this the three girls wove, headed at a steady pace to their homeroom, the first class that they had in the day.

"So how do we think Ms. Saotome's latest relationship is going," asked Sayaka as they ascended the stairs to the second floor.

"I think that eventually Ms. Saotome will find the one for her," Hitomi replied respectfully, yet leaving unsaid how she thought that this current relationship would go.

Madoka nodded as well. "I agree with Hitomi."

"Alright. But I don't think this one is gonna work out," Sayaka said as they arrived at the glass walled classroom that was slowly filling with students that were busy chatting, doing last minute work, and the like. The three entered with little fuss and took their seats in the high tech desks that marked whether they were present or not, and began to prepare for homeroom.

Sitting down in the less than comfortable seats, Sayaka began pulling out her notebooks, only to have her attention drawn to Hitomi by a tap on the shoulder. "Here you go," the girl said as she handed across a notebook marked with 'Math', and her homework answers worked out inside.

"Thanks," Sayaka replied as she gratefully took the notebook and pulled out her homework to begin double checking her answers as she had said she would.

It started out well enough but quite rapidly her determined look became a scowl as she worked on, with the revelation that despite the lesson she had received many of her answers had still be incorrect. Scribbling picked up and became fierce as she corrected her wrong answers, while also hoping that people weren't paying attention to her.

"Oh come on, I thought I got that," she muttered angrily under her breath as she went along down the list. She had been so confident that those answers were right when she had looked over them last night, but apparently they weren't. Fortunately Hitomi had gone through each problem fully, or else Sayaka wouldn't have been able to figure out where she went wrong along the way. As it was, she found herself resisting the urge to hit herself for some of the obvious mistakes she made.

At last though, she finished, and practically shoved the notebook back at Hitomi. "There you go," she said, hoping she hadn't sounded too angry or frustrated to her friend. Hitomi took the notebook with a nod and put it away, tactfully refraining from saying anything if she had noticed.

Sayaka returned her attention to the front of the room with a light huff as she folded her arms. Well now, all she could do was wait and hope that what she remembered was enough to get her through math class. She would get this eventually. Hopefully. She just had to.

Her attention was returned soon enough for her to catch Homura unobtrusively slipping through the wooden classroom door, making her way back to her seat with some pain to draw as little attention to herself in the process as possible. She carefully sat down and began to quietly prepare for the classes ahead, as shy as any other time Sayaka had seen her before.

Well, given the wringer that she had just been through, Sayaka could tell that the two of them needed to have a chat. Now. So she rose from her seat and walked the few rows back to stand in front of the dark haired student, who was busy preparing writing utensils at the time.

"Hey Akemi," Sayaka said somewhat loudly, hoping to draw her attention.

Despite her not so subtle approach, Homura still jumped at the sound of her voice, pencils scattering in the process, but fortunately none fell off the desk. "H-Hello Ms. Miki," she stuttered, unnerved by the suddenness of their contact and working to regain her composure.

Sayaka sighed as she looked down at her flustered classmate. "You know, it's okay to call me Sayaka like everyone else. We're classmates after all."

"A-Alright Sayaka," Homura replied, glancing over at Madoka, who looked back at her and gave her a grin that made her heart flutter dangerously in her chest.

Having not noticed that at all, Sayaka went on. "Anyway, I was wondering when our next get together would be. I've got another nice place to go to for it." Tutoring she may be in the need of, but she had too much pride to openly admit it to the class, even if they knew it already via rumor.

"I was thinking tomorrow, if that's alright with you," Homura said somewhat nervously, having given this some thought before hand that helped her be more confident, but also afraid of refusal.

She need not have worried though. "That sounds fine," Sayaka replied after a few seconds of thought.

Homura, somewhat eager to end the conversation, spoke once more. "You should go sit down. Class is about to start."

A look to the clock on Sayaka's part confirmed just that, and Sayaka nodded as she looked back to Homura. "Well, see yah later," she said with a small wave as she made her way back to her desk, just in time as the door swung open to admit the teacher.

The class quieted down as Ms. Saotome entered and strode to the front of the room, looking over the students with a hawkish gaze, them in return ready for what she would say next.

"Good morning class," she started, to which she received a chorus of "Good morning Ms. Saotome."

then, what many had expected would happen did. "Now class, as you know, orange juice is a vital part of the morning meal, providing nutrients, vitamins, energy, and helping to clean out your sinuses. Many, of course, choose to drink milk, but for those who abstain from that beverage, apple juice or grape juice are inefficient substitutes for the benefits orange juice can provide in conjunction with a good meal, such as eggs." A ruler whipped out, whistling in the air to point at a random student. "Nakazawa, should it matter whether a man has pure or pulped orange juice with his eggs?"

Nakazawa, caught off guard, responded to the question as best he could. "I-I, I suppose not?"

"That's right," Saotome said abruptly and angrily, practically shouting by this point as she waved her ruler around. "According to scientists pulped orange juice is no more healthy than pure orange juice is, so it shouldn't matter what type of juice you have with the breakfast that has been painstakingly made for you while you were asleep. Men, don't go judging women based on the kind of orange juice they think you like, and women, don't let men dictate for you what kind of orange juice you can and cannot drink." She was panting as she finished, the ruler bent to near breaking by this point.

With a cough, she seemed to realize what she was doing and straightened up, back to business. "Now then class, I have some announcements for you..."

Subjected to this not entirely unexpected assault, Sayaka groaned and face planted on her desk. Today was going to be a long day. She could tell.


End file.
